Reindeer
//ˈɹeɪndɪə// noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any Arctic and subarctic-dwelling deer of the species Rangifer tarandus, with a number of subspecies. plural
"Santa Claus' sleigh is supposedly pulled by nine reindeer"
- 2 Arctic deer with large antlers in both sexes; called ‘reindeer’ in Eurasia and ‘caribou’ in North America wordnet
- 3 Any species, subspecies, ecotype, or other scientific grouping of such animals. plural
Verb
- 1 To herd or farm reindeer
Example
More examples"I hope to see reindeer on my trip to Sweden."
Etymology
From Middle English reyndere, reynder, rayne-dere, from Old Norse hreindýri (“reindeer”), from hreinn (“reindeer”) + dýr (“animal”). Compare Dutch rendier (“reindeer”), German Rentier (“reindeer”), Swedish rendjur (“reindeer”), Danish rensdyr (“reindeer”) and French renne (“reindeer”). Related also to displaced Old English hrān (“reindeer”). Unrelated to rein.
Related phrases
More for "reindeer"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.